Ventura County Housing Trust Fund (VCHTF) is proud to announce the issuance of its second Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the development of affordable housing in Ventura County. Linda Braunschweiger, Chief Executive Office of the Ventura County Housing Trust Fund, on behalf of the VCHTF Board of Directors, issued a $1,000,000 NOFA to help finance residential and mixed use developments that include affordable housing units.

Loans from VCHTF may be used for development planning and predevelopment expenses, acquisition/conversion, site development, construction, rehabilitation or to bridge other financing gaps for housing developments that include affordable units. Developments that include units for veterans, homeless individuals and families, youth transitioning from foster care, and farm workers are encouraged.

Over the last two years, VCHTF received over $1,450,000 in matching funds from local cities and the county, and is poised to raise an additional $550,000 over the next couple of years to leverage a full $2,000,000 State match bringing the total funds available to the community to $4,000,000! Braunschweiger stated: “At a time when affordable housing dollars from local, state and federal sources have been cut or reduced, developers of affordable housing are finding it extremely hard to make developments pencil out. VCHF’s reduced rate loans can make the difference in a development moving forward.”

VCHTF has worked for a number of years to bring about a regional solution to the insufficient supply of housing that is affordable to local employees and residents throughout Ventura County. The VCHTF supports housing projects that enhance the quality of life and preserve the long-term affordability of housing as a community resource.

“Leveraging public and private funding sources to expand the supply of affordable housing for extremely low-to-moderate-income residents of Ventura County provides a valuable investment in our community,” said Supervisor Kathy Long who co-sponsored with Supervisor Steve Bennett the County of Ventura’s support of the initial $500,000 in matching funds.

Supervisor Steve Bennett said “It’s great to see our initial investment bear so much fruit. The need for affordable housing is still great in our county, and the ability to assemble a funding pool of up to $4-million will assist many families.”

Braunschweiger said “Affordable housing developers are encouraged to visit the VCHTF web site at www.VCHousingTrustFund.com to review Program Guidelines and Underwriting Guidelines.”